Rhinorhipus is a genus of beetles that contains a single species, Rhinorhipus tamborinensis from southern Queensland, Australia.[1] It is the sole member of the family Rhinorhipidae and superfamily Rhinorhipoidea. It is an isolated lineage not closely related to any other living beetle, estimated to have split from other beetles at least 200 million years ago, with studies either considering them the earliest diverging member of Elateriformia,[2] or a basal lineage within Polyphaga.[3] They exhibit feigning death (thanatosis) when disturbed. Their ecology is poorly known. It is likely that they are fossorial based on their morphology.[4]
References
^Lawrence, JF (1988). "Rhinorhipidae, a new beetle family from Australia, with comments on the phylogeny of the elateriformia". Invertebrate Systematics. 2: 1. doi:10.1071/IT9880001.
^Lawrence, John F.. "4.1. Rhinorhipidae Lawrence, 1988". Volume 2 Morphology and Systematics (Elateroidea, Bostrichiformia, Cucujiformia partim), edited by Willy Kükenthal, Richard A.B. Leschen, Rolf G. Beutel and John F. Lawrence, Berlin, New York: De Gruyter, 2011, pp. 38-42.
